Georg Wilhelm de Gennin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | Georg Wilhelm Henning |
| Born | (1665-10-11)11 October 1665 |
| Died | 12 April 1750(1750-04-12) (aged 84) |
| Allegiance |  Russia |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Battles / wars | Great Northern War |
| Awards | Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky |
| Other work | Co-founder ofYekaterinburg andPerm, writer |
Georg Wilhelm de Gennin (Russian:Георг Вильгельм де Геннин), also known asVilim Ivanovich de Gennin (Russian:Вилим Иванович де Геннин; 11 October 1665 — 12 April 1750), was a German-born Russian military officer and engineer who specialized inmining,fortification, andmetallurgy.[1][2]
He was born as Georg Wilhelm Henning on 11 October 1665 to a noble family, albeit one that was not of substantial means. The place of his birth has been of some contention with historians ranging speculation fromSiegerland, thenCounty of Nassau,Holy Roman Empire toLower Saxony, or hailing from theDutch Republic.[3][4][5] He was baptized inSiegen as Georg Wilhelm Henning in 1676.[6] He later changed his name to Gennin, which is easier to pronounce for Russian speakers.[7]
During theGrand Embassy of Peter I in 1697, General AdmiralFranz Lefort invited Gennin to join theRussian Imperial army.[4][8] During theGreat Northern War, Gennin excelled as an artillerist and fortification engineer.[9] In 1700 he would be promoted to the rank oflieutenant for his work in teaching artillery skills to the military; later on, in 1701, he would be commissioned tofortifyNizhny Novgorod. He would then be promoted tocaptain in 1702 and thenmajor in 1706 for his role in fortifying towns and planningsieges.[6]
In 1713 Gennin would begin managing the iron foundries ofOlonets and modernized the weapon factories ofPovenetsky Uyezd, Koncheozersky, and Petrovsky.[2][7] During this period he would participate in the founding ofPetrozavodsk.[10] At the foundries he would find the peasants unwilling to adopt more modern practices, instead he would find allies in the local, self-sufficientOld Believer communities of the Vygovskaya desert. His success would see him awarded the rank of Major General in 1722 and an order to relocate to theUral region and sort out the conflict betweenVasily Tatischev andAkinfiy Nikitich Demidov.[6][11] He would also make a name for himself as an opponent of corruption amongst the subordinates in the bureaucracy he developed to manage the factories.[12]Building on the work of Tatischev, Gennin's industrial developments would become the foundation of the cities ofYekaterinburg andPerm.[5][7][13][14] In 1721 he would begin using copper ore found along the bank of theMulyanka river to justify the creation of the Yegoshikha copper smelter.[15][16] While in the region, he would also dam theIset River creating a power source for an iron factory the Czar had established, he would be involved in establishing several factories reliant on rivers throughout the area.[17][18]
Gennin would be invited as a witness for allaccession ceremonies for thetsars that came after Peter I. He would make continuous attempts to have the crown relocate him to the capital, receiving awards in place of an order to return from the Ural region. In 1728, one such instance saw Gennin getting promoted tolieutenant general byTsar Peter II rather than return him to the capital.[6][11]
On 12 April 1750 Gennin died leaving behind two sons.[6][11]
In 1731 he was awarded anOrder of Saint Alexander Nevsky knighthood.[9][11]
Gennin was the author of the book "Description of Ural and Siberian factories", where for the first time he gives the geographical and historical description of thePerm Krai, including the Yagoshikhinskiy, Pyskorskiy and Suksunstiy factories with drawings.[18] Gennin's sketches ofScythian eraburial mounds in this work, these sketches would be utilized by other writers throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries on the study of Scythian artifacts.[4]
In 2012 the German photographerThomas Kellner traveled to Russia on behalf ofRWE to work inEkaterinburg andPerm to photograph industrial architecture (Genius Loci) as both cities were founded by Georg Wilhelm de Gennin. The factories he founded processed steel and metal. Kellner photographed not only on site in Russia, but also in the surrounding area of Siegen to capture the connection between the two regions in the processing of steel and metal.[19]Today the city of Yekaterinburg preserves the memory of its two founders in a monument located alongLenin Avenue.[13]
